No charges for Pontotoc deputy in Beale Street shooting

MEMPHIS – No charges are being filed at this time against a Pontotoc County Sheriff’s deputy who was involved in a shooting on Beale Street on Saturday morning in Memphis.

A public information officer with the Memphis Police Department said the details of the shooting were presented to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, and charges were not placed against the deputy.

The deputy’s name is not being released at this time, but Sheriff Leo Mask said the deputy has been placed on paid leave until the investigation into the incident is finalized.

The report filed by the responding Memphis police office said officers heard shots fired on Beale Street at 1:38 a.m. and saw the victim, a 27-year-old male, on the ground and the deputy, a 25-year-old male, running from the scene.

Officers found a Ruger .380 handgun in an ankle holster and a knife on the deputy when they took him into custody, at which time witnesses informed officers of the deputy’s position as a law enforcement officer.

The shooting victim was taken to the Regional Medical Center in critical condition and is now in non-critical condition.

“It looks like it’s going to be self-defense from what they’re telling me,” Mask said. “What they said is someone grabbed and fondled a woman. When he confronted them, someone hit him from behind and they started beating on him. When he came to, they saw and got after him again, so he shot one of them.”

According to Mask, three people attacked the deputy, and the weapon he was carrying was a personal, off-duty weapon.